


Pick Ups and Service

by BlaiddDrwg1982



Series: Sterek AUs [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Caf Worker Derek, Cafeteria AU, Custodian Stiles, Erica is an AMAZING friend, Eventual Sterek, M/M, Mutual Pining, Punk Stiles Stilinski, Shy Derek Hale, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, human world - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-10 11:10:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13500602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlaiddDrwg1982/pseuds/BlaiddDrwg1982
Summary: “Who was that…”“The guy?”“No. The most recent Pope. Yes. The guy.”He could hear her roll her eyes at him.“Not sure. I know they said there was a new custodian joining soon to take Mr. Wilson’s place on the staff. Judging by those nasty blues he was wearing I’d say he’s the one.”“I would too…” Derek’s voice sounded almost wistful.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zerosince1982](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zerosince1982/gifts).



> A cafeteria AU based on a prompt from an AMAZING human being I follow over on Twitter. @angela_rose06 this one is for you! 
> 
> I hope I do it justice.

Serve the food. Scan the card. Serve the food. Scan the card. Serve the food. Take the payment. Serve the food. Wonder what the hell Erica is burning in the kitchen. Scan the card. Sighing under his breath and eyeing the clock Derek counted down the minutes until the end of the lunch period so he could go back to the kitchen and keep working on his meal prep for tomorrow. Possibly determine what it was that Erica was trying to do, but no matter how many of those forensic shows he watched, sometimes he just wasn’t able to identify the charred remains. 

The muffled expletive followed by the hissing pop of Too Hot Metal meeting Too Cold Water, followed by the less than muffled expletive made him groan. New year. New budget. Which meant when he requisitioned a replacement for whatever pot Erica just turned into shrapnel it would likely be approved. Last year he’d been pretty frugal, getting a bulk discount from Vernon’s Veggies helped with the bottom line a fair bit, and he was pretty good at knowing what different meats were going to be coming up on sale from their other suppliers. Looking at the clock and the rest of the line workers were starting to tidy up, he let out a sigh of relief. Another day done, another passel of kids successfully fed.

Gathering the empty trays and putting them in the industrial dishwasher, Derek still kept an eye on the front in case he had to ring through a straggler, or a teacher coming down for their mid day caffeine refill. He didn’t usually charge the teachers for their refills through the day, provided they paid for one first thing in the morning. A few notable exceptions included Jennifer Blake who he on occasion got away with charging double because of how she treated him after their disastrous first/last date. 

Turning back to the sink, he flicked on the faucet, grimacing at the spray back that soaked the front of his shirt. Growling under his breath, he finished rinsing the dishes, a bit put out that one of his contacts managed to flip out of his eye after the second spray back got him in the face. Rinsing his hands, he hastily popped the other one out of his eye and put on his thick rimmed glasses. Why he let Cora talk him into these, he’d never know. Probably because 90% of the time he was in his regular lenses. 

Hearing a subtle throat clearing cough behind him, he wiped off his hands and switched his scowl to a smile before turning around. 

Stumbling for a moment at the sight that was before him, Derek lost sense of time and place. In what would otherwise be unflattering institutional blue pants and a blue snap down shirt, stood a man who some how made it Werk…with a capital W. Derek placed the blame on that thought squarely on Erica’s shoulders, and the marathon watching of Drag Race over summer break. Taking a moment to pull what was (hopefully) just his metaphorical jaw off the floor, he felt his heart pick up double time at the faintest glint of a septum piercing, the hidden bar bell only JUST noticeable if you knew what to look for. The hint at some artificial colour around the man’s wrists, and the appearance of some around his collar made Derek’s mouth go dry. This just wasn’t fair.

When the man smiled at him and his lips started moving, it took Derek a solid minute to realize he was actually talking.

“…uch for the coffee.”

“Huh?”

The man snickered.

“How much for the coffee.”

“Uhh…no charge.”

“Thanks man. I owe you one.”

It was criminal how the shock of purple/grey hair worked so well with the rest of the brown…no…not brown…milk chocolate…coloured hair. Watching as the man walked away, taking an appreciative sip of the coffee, Derek watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed with each swallow form his travel mug. Feeling, for one instant, insanely jealous of said travel mug, Derek stomped back to the kitchen, cheeks on fire, and embarrassment scorching him from the inside out.

“Who was that?”

“The guy?”

“No. The most recent Pope. Yes. The guy.”

He could hear her roll her eyes at him.

“Not sure. I know they said there was a new custodian joining soon to take Mr. Wilson’s place on the staff. Judging by those nasty blues he was wearing I’d say he’s the one.”

“I would too…” Derek’s voice sounded almost wistful. Clearing his throat as he went even redder, he heard his best friend laugh, knowing full well she’d thrown her head back in enjoyment of his predicament. 

“I meant the replacement.”

Snorting, she just shrugged as she lifted shards of broken metal out of the sink and into a box.

“Sure you did Der. Sure you did.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Derek, if you're interested then maybe you should say something."
> 
> Sighing softly as he worked the fresh, hot, chocolate chip cookies off the baking tray onto the little squares of parchment paper so they'd be ready for the rush between first and second period, he licked a piece of melted chocolate off his thumb and twitched his eyebrows at Erica who was fixing her hair before the delivery of vegetables came in. 
> 
> "Don't give me that look. You've been watching out for Hot Custodian all week and turn into a babbling school girl whenever he comes in for his coffee. Though I am impressed. You are at least remembering to take money from him now."

"Derek, if you're interested then maybe you should say something."

Sighing softly as he worked the fresh, hot, chocolate chip cookies off the baking tray onto the little squares of parchment paper so they'd be ready for the rush between first and second period, he licked a piece of melted chocolate off his thumb and twitched his eyebrows at Erica who was fixing her hair before the delivery of vegetables came in. 

"Don't give me that look. You've been watching out for Hot Custodian all week and turn into a babbling school girl whenever he comes in for his coffee. Though I am impressed. You are at least remembering to take money from him now."

Feeling the tips of his ears turn red, he remembered the one time Hot Custodian fished out of him how much the coffee was...which he announced...way too loudly. Dropping the change on the top of the cash register, he didn't ACTUALLY ring it in and therefore the coins spilled everywhere. Derek was too busy blushing uncontrollably to say anything, made even worse by the fact the Custodian turned around and bent over to pick up the coins that fell his way. Derek couldn't help but stare and picture a few other scenarios where that flexibility could come in handy. 

His ears weren't the only thing that was reacting to that mental image.

"Have you at least found out his name?"

Erica only pretended to be oblivious to what was running through Derek's head. Smiling a sympathetic smile, she remembered all too well what it was like to have a crush on what seemed to be an unattainable hotty. But. She at least knew the name of the her crush and they had a sweet little flirtation going on. 

When the bell rang to signal change in periods, there was a trampling towards the door of kids coming in for fresh chocolate chip cookies. The cost on making them was pretty low, and even a few of the teachers came through for a mid morning chocolate fix. It was his grandmother's ribbon winning recipe and if it meant making a few people's mornings a bit better with chocolate and cookies, well, that was his contribution to the education process. Topping off a few coffee cups, the rush went extremely quickly as everyone had a class to get to next. Glorious thing about middle school. No spare periods for the kids to just hang out in the cafeteria. 

Smiling as Isaac and Scott filed through, he felt relief in his chest that Isaac was at least smiling now. The poor kid had gone through more than enough with his mom leaving, and his Dad being arrested for abuse. Melissa McCall opened her house to the wisp of a boy and her own son had all but adopted him as his brother. They were practically inseparable, even when Scott's 'girlfriend' Allison was around. It was cute, they way they looked out for each other. Feeling an awkward pang of jealousy at an 8th grade student for having someone to hold hands with, Derek sighed a defeated sigh after the line up was completely clear. Pulling back the empty trays, he set about getting another batch in the oven to have them ready for lunch. 

Looking over at the delivery door, he grinned a small grin to himself at the way Erica's face lit up while she was talking to the delivery man. Vernon Boyd, owner and operator of Vernon's Veggies. Everyone just called him Boyd. Flashing a toothpaste ad smile at Erica while he laughed low at some amusing anecdote she had just told him, he didn't miss the way her fingers lightly trailed down his arm towards the produce tray he was still holding. As much of a flirt as Erica was though, he knew she'd inspected everything thoroughly, granted Boyd didn't try and pawn off substandard veggies on them, even if they were a school. No. The subpar veggies were given to the local petting zoo for free, and Vernon's Veggies apparently got a "Sponsors" plaque. Because to top it all off the visually intimidating man is a teddy bear who loves animals.

After Erica signed for everything, and Boyd left, Derek pulled a stool and a cup of coffee up to the big table. Smile reaching his eyes at the moony look on her face, she shrugged her shoulders.

"I have a date!"

Derek laughed and gave her a round of applause. Seeing her blush a little bit as she bit her lip, he took a sip of his coffee. 

"Took you long enough. You've only been crushing on him for...two years now?"

"Oh shush. For that, you're coming over tonight to help me pick out something to wear."

Rolling his eyes. They lived on opposite walls in the same duplex, that he conveniently owned. When Erica decided to rent out the other side, they took out a portion of one of the walls and put in a door so they could pass through. He wasn't planning on selling the house any time soon but it would be easy enough to redo that section of the wall to sell it down the road.

One would think that living so close together, and working together would be a strain on their friendship, but they'd grown up together, Erica all but being absorbed into his family. They acted more like the wolf pack Derek's mother was taking care of out at the Preserve than they did a traditional family. 

"Fine. I'll help you pick out something that Boyd will find completely irresistible."

Clapping her hands as she went to wash up and start portioning out individual salads and wrapping them in the somewhat expensive, but environmentally friendly bowls and cling wrap. They had a very thorough recycling program. Administration blamed it on the fact Derek's family operated an environmental preserve, but they'd landed some sponsorships themselves that covered the difference between what administration was willing to chip in, and the rest. Looking at the clock, he had a few more minutes before he started the meat, and vegetarian protein options. Separate cooking surfaces of course. He'd already double checked that the kosher meals were waiting for their designated recipients and the vegan meals were ready. Those he did as soon as he came in. 

Hearing a throat clearing near the cash register, Derek made his way over, whistling a perky little tune. Hot Custodian stood there sheepishly with two cookies and his coffee cup. Smiling broadly, Derek was too happy from Erica's news to stumble over himself like he usually did.

"Just the cookies and the coffee?"

"Yes please."

Ringing it up, Derek actually waited until the cash register opened before depositing the money inside. Handing back the change, he followed HC's hand as it slid into his pocket. Feeling another small flash of irrational jealousy, this time towards the coins that were sitting nestled in the Custodian's pocket, he smiled.

"You have a nice day Mr...."

"Stiles. Not Mr. Stiles. Just...Stiles."

Feeling his eyebrow twitch over the rim of his glasses at the rather unusual name, HC...that is to say STILES just grinned.

"Trust me. It's better than the actual name. A lot easier to pronounce unless you are a skilled linguist."

"I'm sure you probably have a talented tongue then."

Erica all but dropped a pan, but managed to not draw too much attention to herself.

"It's been known to get me into a few tight places."

Derek blushed a little bit, but felt a little bold, riding the high of celebration from Erica landing a date.

"Probably out of a few too I bet."

Stiles shrugged, long fingers caressing the sides of his travel mug. Cocking his head a little to the side, he squinted just slightly as though trying to figure out what Derek's deal was. Feeling the red creeping up his cheeks at being so obviously examined.

"Tell me. With your linguistics. Are you more cunning or..."

Erica gave up the pretence of even caring about the salads and set the tray down. Derek was floundering for a response.

"He would never tell you himself, but Derek's definitely a bit more anal than cunning with his linguistic skills."

This time it was Stiles' turn to go bright red. His fingers stopped caressing the coffee cup, and he cleared his throat. Nodding his head, he smiled.

"I'll definitely have to file that away."

Erica retreated to her prep station, Derek stood rooted to the spot, and Stiles took a bite of his cookie, moaning just loud enough for Derek to hear and feel parts of himself twitch that he'd all but ignored. Watching at Stiles licked the crumbs from the corner of his mouth, Derek caught the flash of a tongue piercing. Filing that knowledge away, he watched as Stiles bounced out, humming to himself, a tune that was suspiciously similar to what Derek whistled earlier. 

Feeling the world come rushing back at Erica wrapped her arms around Derek from behind, she couldn't help but giggle, a little maniacally.

"Look at you Flirty McFlirterson. Great job. AND you got his name."

Looking over at Erica with more than a little shell shock on his face.

"He has a tongue piercing."

"Huh?"

"He has a tongue piercing. He has a septum piecing. I've seen hints at tattoos. He's ticking nearly all my boxes. I swear if I find out he does volunteer work or has puppies I'm just going to throw myself in an undignified heap at his feet."

To that Erica all but howled with laughter. 

"Oh man. You got it bad Der."

Scrubbing his face with his hands, he sighed.

"I know."


End file.
